Chronicles: Volume One by Bob DylanMy review
rating: 3 of 5 stars
Enough already. This book hit me in the same laughable way that a car trip spent listening to the audiobook of Memoirs of Geisha once did: endless variants of "it was at that moment I knew I was destined for greater things." Despite all the things Bob Dylan is great at, he's not all that much of a storyteller - his most literal songs are held together by his wordplay and sense of sonic space, and I felt that is what was going on here - a story that he couldn't really sell straight so he peppered it liberally with Bob Dylan Subterranean Homesick Boogaloo Seasoning, and that is what it largely tasted like. In that regard, I liked his legendary mess Tarantula a lot better.
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I enjoyed the hell out of it. I guess my literary palate is not as developed as yours, but I liked his randomness (or rather Dylanness). I especially loved his descriptions of New Orleans, which hit me right in the gut.
ReplyDeleteI didn't quite get that far in the book. I suspect one of these days I'll pick it back up.
ReplyDeleteAs for development of literary palate goes, I think I'm on my way to being the Bizarre Foods guy on the Travel Channel more than I am becoming a connoisseur.